No Good Deed
by MsSarahAshley
Summary: Just as things start changing for Ranger & Stephanie, something happens. Stephanie screws up big time, but will Ranger forgive her? Will there be a HEA or does Ranger move on? Rated M for language and adult content.
1. Chapter 1

"Just make your choice, Steph."

"Easy for you to say. You never had to make a choice. You just rotated all of us around to fit your needs and schedule."

Stephanie Plum here. Thirty-five year-old, bounty hunter extraordinaire. Okay, maybe not so much, but I'm also not _that_ bad. You're about to witness, potentially, the most fucked up situation Bachelor #1 (Joe Morelli) could have put me in. I say "Bachelor #1" because, lucky me, there are two men in my life. Bachelor #1 is Joseph Morelli. Lifelong "friend", my first for everything. Starting at age six with premature fondling, all the way to age sixteen where he took my big V-Card from me on the floor of the Tasty Pastry. We've been on-again/off-again for the better part of five years, though some may say as long as thirty years. We were on-again this morning, but now off is looking like a pretty solid option.

"So, what? You're picking _him_?!"

"I'm not picking anyone, Joe. I'm especially not picking YOU!"

"Come on, Cupcake. You don't mean that. You were my favorite, after all."

That's it. If another word came out of his mouth, my lunch would come out of mine. FIVE YEARS! Five whole, chaotic years of on-again/off-again bullshit. I was his favorite. Gee whiz, Joe. You really know how to make a girl feel special. Why not just throw in your latest STD test, that you claim you get done monthly, and we'll make this a real Hallmark moment.

After weeks of hearing the gossip around town that Joe was nailing AT LEAST four other women, plus yours truly, I confronted him when he stopped by my apartment. Every Wednesday, I could always count on Morelli coming by around three o'clock in the afternoon with Pino's pizza. He figured he could bribe me with my favorite pizza, and I'd thank him by visiting his boys. It worked for the past few months. I mean, come on. Morelli was deliciously Italian. Dark, handsome, ass to die for. If he wants to bring me my favorite food AND I get to put my hands all over him, who am I to say no?

That worked, until today. Today was Wednesday, and like clockwork, Morelli showed up right on time with Pino's in hand. I decided to hold off on the conversation until the pizza was gone, just in case he decided to storm out and take the pizza with him. I'm not THAT dumb. Once the pizza was gone, I threw the first dagger.

"So, who's Marcia?"

Now that face was a Kodak moment.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Cupcake?"

"Oh, Marcia doesn't ring a bell. How about Hilary?" Confusion and possibly anger danced in his eyes.

"Cupcake, what are you talking about? Come on, the boys are getting lonely." He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me to the bedroom, but I stood my ground.

"No Hilary either? What about Nancy? Janette? Gina? Come on, Morelli. If your face gets any more red, your eyes might pop out of your head." Just like that, his cop face slammed down.

"Why the hell can't anyone stay out of my business? Who did you talk to, Cupcake? Who wants to take me down so bad they had to start naming off a bunch of old flames to fire you up?"

"Really, Joe? If they're old flames, why the hell are you turning into Hellboy in front of my very eyes? It doesn't matter who told me. What matters is now I know and I'm done. Flat out DONE!"

"It was Manoso, wasn't it? He's always wanted you and probably had all his butt buddies tracking my entire life just to find ONE THING that would piss you off enough to leave me. Now he has you all to himself." I was starting to see red. Little did Joe know, Ranger made it abundantly clear that he wasn't looking for a relationship. With all the poaching he did on Joe, something tells me he didn't really care if there was someone else involved. He was going to get what he wanted no matter what. On top of all of that, I hadn't spoken to Ranger in almost three weeks.

Ricardo Carlos Manoso (a.k.a. Ranger) is Bachelor #2. Ranger has been my mentor since I started this whole bounty hunting deal. He's saved me more times than I can count, and is without a doubt, one of my best friends. One glorious night, he was my lover. A night I'll soon never forget. However, unlike Joe, Ranger doesn't do "relationships". So I'm pretty much left with stolen kisses, and the sweet memories of our one night together. There have been numerous times where I'm sure Ranger is the one for me, but then I remember his "my love comes with a condom, not a ring" comment, and the fact that I'm not so much a casual sex kind of lady. I take what I can get, without signing my soul to the devil, and move on.

"This has nothing to do with Ranger, Joe. As far as I know, he doesn't even know about any of this. We live in the Burg, Joe. We have our whole lives and nothing has changed. Even in the privacy of my own apartment, I can guarantee that as soon as you walk out of here looking like you do, 40 people will be talking about how we broke up before you even make it to your truck."

I watched as Joe stared at his feet, and took a couple deep breaths. When he looked up at me, I knew right away he was still on the defensive. Before he could start defending himself, I put my hand up and started speaking.

"This is the end, Joe. For good. Obviously I couldn't make you happy. Do what you have to do to be happy, but know I won't be a part of it anymore. I think it's time for you to leave."

Without so much as blinking, he turned and walked out. I'd say walked out of my life, but like I said, we lived in the Burg and nothing could keep us apart forever. We'd eventually see each other.

I expected to have a wave of emotion hit me when he shut the door, but the only emotion I could register was relief. Relived that I'd no longer feel pressure to quit bounty hunting, or get married, become a housewife, or a _mother_. Lord knows I'm NOT ready for that step. No matter how long Joe was in my life for, if after thirty years, the thought of forever with him still made me break out in hives, it wasn't meant to be.

After a few beats, I decided I deserved a bath. A hot, steamy, bubbly bath. With candles. And wine. Lots of wine. I rummaged through the cabinets and couldn't find a single wine glass. Hell, I'm alone and newly single. Who needs a wine glass? I grabbed two bottles of moscato and wandered to the bathroom.

Halfway through my bath, my eyes were closed and I was on the edge of sleep. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed, which only happened when one thing occurred. Ranger just entered my breathing space. Without opening my eyes, I greeted him.

"Yes, there are two bottles. No, I don't have a glass. I couldn't find one. Yes, I'm fine. It needed to end anyway."

Apparently, my ESP was in overdrive and I didn't even notice.

"Babe."

And apparently, his vocabulary hasn't expanded much. Good thing I've come to understand was most of his "Babes" meant. This one I read as, "Way to be aware of your surroundings" with a dash of, "Two wine bottles and no glass? Being a bit of a lush today, aren't we?" Well, yes. Maybe I am being a bit of a lush, but who cares. Obviously not me.

"Don't 'Babe' me, Ranger." _I haven't seen him or spoken to him in three weeks, and that's all I get?! The men in my life really know how to make a girl feel like a million bucks_.

"What would you rather I do?" _Now there's a loaded question_

"Use your words. I know they're in there somewhere. Today is not a one-word response kind of day."

"Do you want me to stay?" _Again, loaded question._

"You don't have to. I'll be fine." _Right? I haven't broken down yet. So far, so good._

"Do you want to come back to Rangeman with me?" _I'm pretty sure he's trying to break me down._

"I'll be fine, Ranger. Really."

I figured I should probably open my eyes now. And boy, am I glad I did. Rather than his issue Rangeman uniform, he was wearing distressed, stone washed jeans that fit him perfectly, a deep navy blue V-neck t-shirt that clung to him deliciously, and black boots.

"What's the occasion?" I asked, scanning over his body, multiple times, slowly.

"What do you mean?"

"You're dressed…normal. Well, normal for the everyday person. Not you."

"I was hoping you hadn't eaten dinner yet."

Huh? He was asking me to dinner? Dressed like that? Maybe I did drink a little too much wine.

"Joe brought pizza over, but that was a while ago now. What time is it anyway?"

"Almost six o'clock." Thanks to the wine, I hadn't realized just how cold the water had become.

He held his hand out, inviting me out of the bathtub.

"Um, you do know I'm naked under the bubbles, right?" I don't know why I'm embarrassed by Ranger seeing me naked. Hell, I hadn't even known him a week before he saw me in my birthday suit for the first time.

"That's what I'm hoping for." The smile that came along with that comment was enough to send heat through my entire body that, if I hadn't jumped out of the tub that minute, the water might start to boil.

Ranger walked out of the bathroom, but returned a minute later with a towel and my robe. He held it out for me to step into. The slight embarrassment I once had seemed to have vanished, and I slowly stood up and walking into his welcoming arms. Slowly and gently, he dried me off, spending extra time from my shoulders to my hip bones.

A shiver ran through my entire body and, as much as I tried, I couldn't suppress the moan that escaped from deep in my throat. I felt Ranger's touch stop, and his eyes locked on mine. In the blink of an eye, he picked me up bridal style, and was all but running to my bedroom. As he tossed me on the bed, my towel fell completely open, and his eyes dilated with desire. A growl that could only be described as lustful hunger came from deep in his chest before his lips crashed into mine.

His wandering hands were quickly followed by his wandering (and _wonderful_) mouth and tongue. Just as he reached the promise land, he looked up at me.

"It's over, right?"

"Yes."

"For good?"

"Yes."

"And you want this, right?"

My eyes glazed over with impatient desire.

"Now is not the time to play fifty questions, Ranger."

With that I was awarded a 2000 watt smile, and the most talented tongue in all of Trenton. What better way to end my night.

...

All recognizable content belongs to Janet Evanovich

_I'm trying to see where this story is going to go. I have the ideas in my head, I just need to figure out how to put it in an enjoyable story line. Chapters might be shorter than this, but I'll be updating as frequently as my creativity and time allow. Hope you all enjoy!_


	2. Chapter 2

A few hours later, Ranger and I lay sated and happy together in my bed. As content as I was, I couldn't keep my mind from running. Why had I allowed that to happen? I'm not a casual sex kind of girl. Especially if it's with Ranger. I know I love him. He knows I love him. And I know he loves me _in his own way._ Unfortunately, it's not a way that allows me to just sleep with him whenever the moment arises.

After a few minutes, Ranger tucked a stray curl behind my ear and asked, "Still up for dinner, Babe?"

As if on cue, the beast within woke, causing Ranger to softly chuckle in his throat. "Let's get you fed before that thing attacks."

Both of us cleaned up and got dressed. Ranger grabbed my hand and led me out of my apartment. As he tucked me into his truck, curiosity was starting to get the best of me.

"What's this dinner all about anyway?"

"Can't I just take you to dinner?" Ranger said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course you can. But usually, you're still in your Rangeman uniform. And it's never a secret where we are going."

"It's no secret. You never asked."

So he had me there. Still, we rarely went out to eat. Ella usually just made something, and I was invited to his seventh floor penthouse apartment. Anything Ella made was better than anything I'd eaten at a restaurant anyway, so it never bothered me.

"Well then, where are we going?"

"To my parent's house", Ranger replied. I couldn't tell if he was trying to hide his smile or trying to keep from driving off the road so we wouldn't have to go.

"WHOA! Uh, don't you think you might have wanted to _ask me first?!_"

For the first time, _ever_, Ranger looked terrified. I could not figure out why he was doing this to me. Where did this come from? We aren't even in a relationship! Hell, I just ended one with Joe not even 24 hours ago. I wonder how much it would hurt to tuck and roll out of a truck going 55 miles per hour. I'm pretty high off the ground. It would probably hurt a lot. But would it hurt more than the rejection I might receive from Ranger's parents? Or the rejection from Ranger when he sees what a social loser I am?

"You're right, Stephanie. I should have asked you. We can go back."

Remember when you were young and you got in trouble? Your mother always screamed your first _and_ middle names. That's how I feel when Ranger calls me Stephanie and not "Steph" or "Babe". It doesn't help that he looks completely heartbroken right now. I've never see Ranger show so much emotion. His normal blank stare is failing miserably tonight.

"I just don't know if I'm ready, Ranger. I just dealt with everything with Joe this afternoon and barely had time to recover. This is a lot. I guess I just don't get it. Why? Why now?"

All he did was drive. His blank face was now locked down. He didn't look at me. He didn't say anything. He pulled an illegal U-turn and headed back to my apartment. I decided to just turn and enjoy the scenery outside. Honestly, I was getting pretty pissed. How could he plan something _this_ serious without telling me, then get mad when I'm just not ready. He knows commitment and all that comes with it scares the hell out of me. Now he's pushing me, and giving me false hope. We will never be in a relationship. He's always made that clear.

We pulled into my complex and I turned back to Ranger, who was still staring out the windshield.

"I'm sorry, Ranger. Really. Just give me a couple days. Let me let everything that happened today sink in. Please."

I turned to get out of the truck, and he grabbed my arm.

"You want to know why I did this, Stephanie? Because I want it to be time. We have a lot to discuss, but this is the start. I may not have gone about it the right way, but I'm also trying to learn. Batman isn't Rico Suave. I haven't been in a relationship in almost thirteen years. I don't know what I'm doing. But I want to learn. And I want to be good. I will be. Just give me time."

Again, WHOA! Not only was the almost diarrhea of the mouth, for Ranger, but he said _relationship_. He also admitted to not knowing everything, which I still don't believe.

"Wait, _relationship_? What are you talking about?"

"Like I said, we have a lot to talk about. I'll call you."

I had no idea what to say. So, I did the smart move. I got out of the car and practically ran into my apartment.

...

All recognizable content belongs to Janet Evanovich

_Sorry about the super short chapter. They won't all be as long as the first one, but I promise I'm going to try to make it fun and exciting._

_Wonder why Stephanie's running from Ranger? It's going to get better!_


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